Thursday, 27 November 2025
Thursday, 27 November 2025
Amid the criticism of Gautam Gambhir’s decisions following India’s humiliating defeat to South Africa in the recently concluded Test series, legendary cricketer Sunil Gavaskar defended the coach on Thursday, saying it was up to the players to deliver.
"He's a coach. The coach can prepare a team. The coach can tell, you know, a guy with his experience. But it's out there in the middle that the players have to deliver," Gavaskar told India Today.
And he is right. The series has exposed repeated failures under pressure by the Indian batters, highlighting that a lack of temperament, rather than coaching and poor squad selection, played a key role in the whitewash against Temba Bavuma’s team.
First Test: Early signs of poor decision-making
In the first innings of the first Test, Yashasvi Jaiswal tried to cut a ball too close to the body and got an inside edge onto the stumps. He could’ve played it straight, given that was only the fourth ball he was facing.
Rishabh Pant made his weakness known in the first innings when he uncomfortably jabbed at a short ball in his body and was caught by the wicketkeeper.
Second innings in Kolkata: Panic under pressure
In the 2nd innings of the Kolkata Test, when Pant’s team were in a position to win the match, several bad decisions by batters cost India the game. Dhruv Jurel, trying to cement his spot in the India’s Test team, unnecessarily tried to pull a short delivery outside off-stump off Jansen and was caught at short midwicket. Pant chipped a full delivery straight back to the bowler as India succumbed to a close defeat.
Jadeja’s LBW pattern highlights flawed game plan
In both innings of the Kolkata Test, Ravindra Jadeja was adjudged LBW to spinners. Jadeja’s game plan was clear: go across the off-stump to play the spinners. On both occasions, he asked for DRS, feeling the impact was outside the off-stump. Jadeja wasn’t across enough both times.
Guwahati repeat: Shot selection woes continued
The slim chance of levelling the series in Guwahati evaporated when poor shot selection by the Indian batters continued.
Sai Sudharsan, getting a rare chance in Shubman Gill’s absence, got out trying to play a backfoot pull on a marginally short delivery, a shot he could’ve kept on the ground. Jurel got out in a similar manner to the 2nd innings of the first Test, trying to pull a delivery outside off-stump. Jurel’s dismissal came at a crucial time when India were trying to recover from losing two quick wickets.
Skipper Pant, expected to lead from the front, came down the pitch to Jansen and produced a wild heave, nicking it to the keeper.
KL Rahul’s dismissals underline technical lapses
KL Rahul’s dismissals throughout the series can be a case-study in itself. Rahul, a senior member of the side now along with Bumrah, couldn’t get his feet close to the ball throughout the series. Rahul was caught thrice behind the stumps in the first three innings of the series. Each time, he played the ball away from his body which produced an outside edge.
In the 2nd innings of the Guwahati Test, Rahul lacked confidence to play the full delivery with a straight bat and tried to push a simple ball outside the off-stump to the long-on region. He left a huge gap between the bat and the pad and was bowled.
Looking at this sample-size of batting errors, one cannot help but wonder, how much of this whitewash’s blame falls on Gautam Gambhir? Coaches come and go, but similar mistakes highlight a pattern that needs to be altered to provide India with a chance of making it to the WTC Final come June 2026.
